These are the top 3 conditions treated with medical marijuana

Medical marijuana can treat numerous medical conditions, but some are more common than others, writes Calvin Hughes. Here are the 3 most common conditions that patients treat with medical marijuana, according to data from the research firm CB2 Insights.

Sleep

For the canna-experienced among us, the fact that cannabis is a popular sleep aid probably isn’t that surprising. Just over 15 percent of medical marijuana patients reported that they use cannabis to help them beat their various sleep disorders, making sleep the third biggest reason patients take medical marijuana.

However, in recent years, cannabis has also become a popular sleep aid among people who don’t suffer from diagnosed sleep conditions as well. It has been estimated that 14 percent of all Americans now use cannabis to help them get a good night’s sleep, making it the most popular sleep aid after melatonin and a cup of tea.

Pain

Cannabis is probably best known as a safer alternative to opioid painkillers like oxycontin. So it’s not surprising that 33 percent of medical marijuana patients use it to treat chronic pain, which is perhaps the most common qualifying condition in states that allow medicinal cannabis use.

Mental Health

Nearly 35 percent of medical marijuana patients use cannabis to help treat mental illness. This may come as somewhat of a surprise since most states with medical marijuana programs don’t allow medical marijuana treatments for things like anxiety and depression. That’s largely because the jury is sill out on whether or not consuming cannabis actually helps, or hinders people with mental illnesses.

One mental health issue that is commonly treated with medical marijuana however, is PTSD. Because of this cannabis has become a popular medication among veterans, which has probably contributed to the high rates of medical marijuana use for mental illness.

However, this also shows that current laws and research are still out of step with what most patients are doing and it’s time to catch up.